Detroit Lions players didn’t receive a single All Pro vote, Snacks snubbed again

On Friday afternoon, the Associated Press announced their selections for the 2018 NFL All Pro first and second teams. Last year, both cornerback Darius Slay and punt returner Jamal Agnew made the All Pro first teams, but they weren’t as lucky this year.

No Lions player was named to the All Pro team in 2018. In fact, according to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, no Lions player even received a single vote.

Here’s a look at the first and second teams:

While it’s hard to argue that any Lions players were truly deserving, one player’s omission certainly stands out: defensive tackle Damon Harrison Sr. “Snacks” was the best run-defending defensive tackle in the league this year, and he has been for some time. Back in 2016, he was named first-team All Pro with the Giants, but he had no such luck this year despite playing in 17 games, leading all defensive linemen with 81 tackles and being PFF’s No. 1 graded run defender.

Harrison’s impact was obvious just looking at the Lions’ run defense before and after his arrival. Detroit went from one of the worst run defenses in the NFL to one of the best in a matter of weeks after the Lions traded for Harrison.

And to make matters worse, the AP voting system for All Pro is so flawed that three players were named to both the first and second teams at different positions: Tyreek Hill (Flex, WR), Derwin James (S, DB) and JJ Watt (DE, DT).

And as a last slap in the face to Lions fans, it’s worth mentioning that Detroit is one of the few cities with an NFL franchise that doesn’t have a representative voting in the All Pro process.

Well, at least we can appreciate Snacks on a local level.